Political rant; contains belief issues, read at own risk
So, the obligatory post-election post. Congrats to the Americans for putting the right man in office. I don't know if the Americans knew this, but you've earned a lot of respect in Europe because of that. Let us hope that the image of America as a bully to its allies and enemies will change for the better.
On Prop. 8 and all the other propositions banning equal rights I call bullshit. Yes, the votes were close and in ten or twenty years everyone will be equal. Do you realise most countries in Europe has had gay marriage and abortion legalised years ago? In the Netherlands it has been over a decade since gay marriage, abortion and euthanasia have been legalised. We fought for it and we got it. It was not easy, but the best things never are.
I support the people protesting against the ban on gay marriage, and I cheer them on for daring to hold the churches and religions who sponsored Yes on 8 responsible. Religion and law should be seperate in every way. The news of protesters being assaulted by the police sickens me, and what enrages me is this comment, made in a LA Times article :
Loder said he had not given money to the Yes-on-8 campaign because finances are tight raising five daughters, but he did put a sign in his frontyard. It was vandalized, he said.
"As a member of the LDS church we have known [and still do] the feeling of being ridiculed and mistreated because of our faith," he said.
If you are familiar with the feeling of being ridiculed and mistreated because of something you chose to do, then why are you doing the same to others who have no choice in their sexual orientation? GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND STOP BEING STUPID!
This is where my intense dislike of religion in any shape or form comes from: it gives people an excuse not to think for themselves. They do slavishly what they are told by their interpreter of the holy book/scroll/stone and never dare question them, for fear of doubting their reason of existence. I need no reason for existence, life after death or judge of my behavior: I was born, I will die, and the only way I will live on is through teaching the young tolerance and equality and above all to think for themselves and be critical of what people, myself included, tell them. I am the only judge of my actions, because I think before I act, and it is my choice how I act.
America, you are the biggest country in the world, and in your own eyes the best country in the world. Change can happen in America: your President-Elect said so, and you will have to remind him to keep is word. Equality for all; women that have the right to decide what happens to their body; women who earn the same as men; marry who you will in what way you will; believe what you will: but never, ever force your own beliefs onto others. Debate with them to try and make them see your side of the argument, and let them do the same. Respect isn't ignoring the other: it is treating them like you would like to be treated.
All rights are worth fighting for, and the right to make your own choices unhindered by anyone is the most important one.
On Prop. 8 and all the other propositions banning equal rights I call bullshit. Yes, the votes were close and in ten or twenty years everyone will be equal. Do you realise most countries in Europe has had gay marriage and abortion legalised years ago? In the Netherlands it has been over a decade since gay marriage, abortion and euthanasia have been legalised. We fought for it and we got it. It was not easy, but the best things never are.
I support the people protesting against the ban on gay marriage, and I cheer them on for daring to hold the churches and religions who sponsored Yes on 8 responsible. Religion and law should be seperate in every way. The news of protesters being assaulted by the police sickens me, and what enrages me is this comment, made in a LA Times article :
Loder said he had not given money to the Yes-on-8 campaign because finances are tight raising five daughters, but he did put a sign in his frontyard. It was vandalized, he said.
"As a member of the LDS church we have known [and still do] the feeling of being ridiculed and mistreated because of our faith," he said.
If you are familiar with the feeling of being ridiculed and mistreated because of something you chose to do, then why are you doing the same to others who have no choice in their sexual orientation? GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND STOP BEING STUPID!
This is where my intense dislike of religion in any shape or form comes from: it gives people an excuse not to think for themselves. They do slavishly what they are told by their interpreter of the holy book/scroll/stone and never dare question them, for fear of doubting their reason of existence. I need no reason for existence, life after death or judge of my behavior: I was born, I will die, and the only way I will live on is through teaching the young tolerance and equality and above all to think for themselves and be critical of what people, myself included, tell them. I am the only judge of my actions, because I think before I act, and it is my choice how I act.
America, you are the biggest country in the world, and in your own eyes the best country in the world. Change can happen in America: your President-Elect said so, and you will have to remind him to keep is word. Equality for all; women that have the right to decide what happens to their body; women who earn the same as men; marry who you will in what way you will; believe what you will: but never, ever force your own beliefs onto others. Debate with them to try and make them see your side of the argument, and let them do the same. Respect isn't ignoring the other: it is treating them like you would like to be treated.
All rights are worth fighting for, and the right to make your own choices unhindered by anyone is the most important one.